Naberius
by DarkTideProductions
Summary: Commander Ken Alrik is in a tight spot, hopefully he and his XO Jax can get out of it...


**Naberius**

"**GET DOWN!**" a male voice cried out. Dropping to his knees, Alrik rolled down into the nearby rock pile. Hugging it tightly, the ear piercing sounds of bullets roared over him. '_Too close,' _he thought to himself. Ejecting a thermal clip, he cocked his assault rifle. At the moment, Commander Ken Alrik was surrounded. Even wearing the best armor Cerberus could offer him, the odds were hardly in his favor. '_Just great...'_

The Cerberus Assault Armor (CAA) was one of the more flamboyant outfits that the Illusive Man's science team made. Contrary to more common armor designs, instead of focusing on balancing protection with mobility, this hulking suit was geared entirely towards negating as much damage as possible. Thickly padded from head to toe, it was deemed impossible to place any actual compensation for its actual weight. Fortunately, for any soldier capable of carrying it they were well rewarded with fantastic constitution and room for extra ammo packs. Not only that, the majority of all the platings were a shining white; with the joints a pitch black and golden overlays, the suit, while an obvious target, also happened to be an intimidating one. Visibility did not suffer either, despite an all encompassing helmet, the face had a wide visor allowing perfect vision without exposing it.

Pushing himself up in the slightest bit, he tried to peek his head over the wall. In that very moment another projectile hit and ricocheted off the decay wall. "Damn it!" Alrik grunted as he dropped back down.

"Don't bother," said the male voice, "They have a view of the entire stretch."

Alrik looked to his giant friend in concern, "Who've we got left Jax?" The large man cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders; such a large figure he was (especially in his Assault Armor) that he appeared to be more colossus than man. Such as it was, Jax could barely fit in the small crater they were in.

"It doesn't look good Rik," he started, "Erika is out of commission, someone grabbed Cecile and I could have sworn that I saw them set Jecht on fire."

Alrik blinked in surprise, "...What?"

"Aye. I couldn't believe it either, went down screaming like a little girl."

"Well, how many of them are left?" he asked in concern.

"You saw the only one we took down, that was it. Sorry Commander," he added apologetically.

Turning behind him as if it would help, Ken looked back at his behemoth friend, "What about Selene?" Jax shook his head, "No idea Commander," with just a tinge of hope in his voice he continued, "I know she was able to run off after the Dragons jumped us, life signs are still there...but who knows where."

Looking around the broken city for some solution to the problem, he cursed, "Shit!"

"So, what do we do Rik?" the bulky man asked patiently.

"Umm..." The Commander started, trying to take in his surroundings more deeply.

They were entrenched in the wreckage of an abandoned city. Massive piles of rubble covered where there would be streets, the closest thing to resemble streets were atop the buildings; the tops of skyscrapers had been destroyed and collapsed, creating a mock bridge across the urban sky. Dilapidated structures were the norm here, and finding intact constructions there was like finding spiritual enlightenment in a brothel. Whether this place was destroyed by war or time, Alrik didn't know, and he certainly didn't care. "_So there's two of us. Three if we're lucky. Five of them." _As his eyes scanned the urban wasteland he noted a large hole along the wall of a nearby building. With a quiet chuckle to himself he nodded, "Alright."

Pointing behind him he muttered, "Go, I want you to find Selene, I'll keep them busy."

Jax looked at him incredulously, "But that's six against one."

"Good to know you can still count."

"You know what I me-"

"Yea, yea. I know, not a fair fight and all that. I'll humor them and just shoot with my left hand." Pulling the pistol off his hip, he threw it up with his right hand. It spun briefly as the handle folded as it rose, and then re-extended as it fell and landed into his left hand. Jax looked at him blankly, and then sighed, "Show off."

"No more time Jax, go!" Standing up and looking over the crater once more he fired off his pistol blindly, ducking only when he heard the returning sound of another explosive round, causing dust and small rocks to roll into the crater. "Get the hell out of here!"

With a quick nod of his own Jax ran, "Aye aye!" Where Alrik would have had to jump to get out, his second-in-command merely stood up and stepped over the gap. As more gunfire flew by, he dashed off into the city deeps. Taking a deep breath, he broke his cover once more to try and see his opposition. _"__One, two."_ It took only a second for him to pick them out with his Heads Up Display, which was able to pick up most high tech signatures. _'And these idiots use them to a fault.' _Perched high atop a remnant sky scraper was a sniper, _'That'll be the real bitch to get.' _Only across the street was another entrenched target. _'And he's the one firing all the shots...probably an automatic...but where are the others?'_ It didn't matter though, he had to move himself. Already he could hear foot steps.

_'Here we go!' _In a dash the commander ran to the opposite edge of the crater and ran up it, digging his foot into the incline and pulling himself up and over in a single motion. All he needed to do was make his way to the gaze And then it got loud.

It was as if a meteor shower rained over him, for once he got out of the hole explosions had burst all around him. Practically dancing, Alrik could spend no time for counter fire as he was forced to stay in constant movement. Frantically he ran, jumping over obstacles as he went. In the commotion he tripped, '_Hell!_' unable to stop himself, he embraced the fall as he curled his body and rolled across the dirt. Recovering on his knees, he noticed that his pistol and shotgun had fallen from their holsters.

The sound of metal to the rocky ground was clearly heard. Following the sound, he looked up to see someone towering over him. "I take it we're not friends," the Commander muttered sarcastically.

The man above him could only be described in one word: big. No human features were visible, such as it was it couldn't even be guaranteed the being was human in the first place had the Cerberus Officer not known better. A metal colossus, it seemed perfectly designed for this environment. Sleek but strong, this creation was almost a foil to the CAA, contrasting each other in every way. The upper portion of the chest was clearly plated like the Commander's, but where Alrik's were compacted and flat, it was more like a shield; rounded with its peak length at the center. The limbs were designed in harmony, with the arms and legs given overlapping scales that bent easily; the hands and feet were essentially shaped blocks of metal for optimal grip and defense. The lower chest was held together by pseudo-chain mail, bending just as the scales on the limbs only a tighter fit. High shoulder plates resembling ornate knight armor just barely covered the lower portion of the helmet, however the most iconic piece of the suit was the helmet itself. Sleek and tight fitting where the CAA was blocky and loose, the two pieces of headgear even had contrasting visors. While the CAA had its weakest point as the visor for optimal vision, this knight armor (for lack of a better word) was the most solid at its front. Reinforced, the face created a fearsome image; lights placed at the forehead and just above where the eyes would be, at its center was a glowing red visor.

"Gotcha Cerberus," the tech-knight said cockily, "Looks pretty bad for you huh."

Cursing to himself, the Commander snarled, "You going to end this then or what, Dragon?"

Chuckling in response, his opponent unveiled his assault rifle, curved at the top but firm and flat at the bottom, "What do you think?"

Alrik did not flinch or turn away as his opposition aimed the gun at him; but he did blink in surprise as he saw the Dragon toss his weapon to the ground alongside the Officer's weapons, "I want bragging rights for this, I'm a take you down the old fashioned way." With that, he raised his hands up and then clenched them into fists.

In a moment's time the tech-knight rushed towards the Commander. Simultaneously, Alrik recovered to his feet and countered the knight with his own weight, causing the Dragon to stumble backwards. Recovering, the fighter chuckled again, "Not ba-eugh!"

Ken wasted no time listening to trash talk, thrusting his fist into the hip of his enemy _'You're not worth the breath_'. Again, he stumbled backwards. Staying on the offensive, the Commander charged forward, now aiming for his opponent's gut. He missed; this time the knight ducked down and wrapped his arms around Alrik's. Before he could even process what just happened he felt himself briefly lifted into the air and tossed into the finely crushed remnants of a city park, dirt both flew and fell as he crashed into the earth.

Incredulously, the Commander looked into the air, needing to twice over replay what just happened in his head. _'Ho-...holy shit!'_ Time was not humoring Alrik however, as a heavy boot appeared over him. "Give up yet, Cerberus?" the Dragon laughed again.

Rolling to the side, Ken narrowly avoided having his face crushed. Again the tech-knight raised his foot for another attack. This time it was the Officer who countered, reaching for the knight's leg. Both struggled for a moment, but gravity took its toll and the Dragon came crashing into the ground. In less than a second, they were upon each other.

Wrestling back and forth, the two tossed and turned like angry lovers; grappling each others' shoulders and then grabbing the other by the neck. Weight favored the commander, but maneuverability lay in the hands of the knight.

At first, the Dragon had pinned the Cerberus operative, only to be dislodged by his opponent's massive armor; it was then that Alrik was the one on top. Again, the success was short lived as the knight wriggled out of his grip and land a disarming blow. They were tossing and turning once more.

After it became clear that neither side was truly gaining the upper hand, Alrik pushed out at the Dragon with great force, creating an artificial pause to the fight as both got to their feet. With a cough, the knight spoke between his deep breaths, "Heh...not bad doggy." Rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles he continued, "Tougher than I thought." The commander merely shook his head though, and heavily walked towards him.

Both fighters stared each other down, walking in sync with each other as they tried to flank their target. Ultimately, it was the Commander who engaged in the next round, stepping forward and reaching out with that arm.

Too slow! The Dragon ducked beneath the Officer and gave him a quick jab to the gut. While more or less harmless, the first strike had been made. In frustration the Cerberus Officer lashed out with his other arm, but the tech-knight leaped back, dancing out of his reach like a monkey, moving from side to side and toying with his prey like a cat with a mouse.

Contrarily, the battle itself was like that of a mouse and an elephant. While the elephant could not hit the mouse, the rodent, no matter how many times it bit the giant, the results were negligible. Only when one adapted to the other would the tide sway.

Finally realizing this, the tech-knight, satisfied with his performance, ran in for a strong thrust at the solar plexus. "Not a chance in hell!" Alrik shouted, breaking his silence. The battle went the same way with reversed roles. Leaning backwards, the Commander reached his arms out and yanked at the knight, pulling the Dragon right towards him. In an attempt to counter, the Dragon tried to swing with his other arm, only for it to come short as he found his groin impacted by the Cerberus Operative's knee. With that, Ken dragged the man to the ground onto his knees. His opponent groaned almost nauseously,

"Not bad doggy...you're better than I-"

"Just **shut up**." Ken muttered in frustration as he hammered his fist down onto the Dragon's head, who crashed into the ground face first. The knight groaned briefly again, to which he responded with a swift kick to the chest; the body stopped moving. There was a brief surge of electricity, both the lights and visor on the suit dimmed. With a smirk, he stretched as he went back to the recently formed pile of weapons. Kneeling down, he holstered his pistol and collapsed the barrel and trigger of the shotgun, placing it on his back. His head tilted towards the assault rifle, and he folded it as he had with the shotgun until it too was a rectangular brick and locked it onto his shoulders. With a final nod to the knight and chuckled, "At least you were good for something." _''One down. Five more to go,'_ he thought smugly to himself.

Feeling satisfied with himself, the Commander walked to his destination at a casual pace. _'Let's hope Jax knows what the hell he's doing.'_ Checking the three glowing lights on his right arm, he only knew Selene and Jax were still alive.

As the giant XO continued to race across the broken city, he felt himself finally losing his energy, and his desire to rest began to overcome him. He listened for the sounds of nearby gunfire, and was surprised to hear none. Content knowing that he was no longer in immediate danger, Jax slowed his pace to a light jog as he focused his mind on the task at hand: Find Selene. As Naberius' best marksman, losing her would be tragic; especially in a battleground like this one.

Slowing to a walk, he began to approach the nearby buildings. Bill boards lined the lower ends of what were (presumably) shops on either side of the road. Old advertisements, barely legible or gone entirely swayed in the slightest of movements. Few of them were noteworthy, even less meant something to Jax; though one stood out to him. At the far left of a plaza he saw a banner that appeared to still be intact. Unable to make it out clearly, he quickened his pace again to get a closer look. When he got there, the world around him melted away..

_No longer in a massive suit of armor, he looked up at an ice cream shop in front of him. A large billboard hung just above the building; lollipops and candy on either side of it, a huge ice cream cone at the center, with bold letters just above it, "__**Sal's Sweets"**_ _He licked his lips in excitement, just the thought of a scoop of chocolate ice cream was enough to make him salivate. Painted in bright colors, the building itself seemed to welcome him. Behind the clear double doors was the owner, a heavy set but lively man behind the counter with a small paper hat on. He seemed to laugh as he waved at Jax with his ice cream scoop, beckoning him to come in. The child giggled joyously as he tugged at the large hand he held onto, "Dad, can we get some, please?" The tall olive-skinned father smiled widely at the boy beneath him, "Of course, let's go!" he said as he gripped his son's hand and ran towards the door with him; the ice cream man continued to laugh as he waved both of his hands to the pair, __ushering them in. But as he opened the door, everything turned to black, and it engulfed him. _

"DAD!" he screamed, and he opened his eyes.

Jax blinked several times as reality returned, and the colors around him faded. _'That was a life time ago...'_ Sand flew by, briefly covering his visor. After it subsided, he looked at the bill board again. Most of the paper had torn off like the rest, but at the center he could make out a waffle cone; just above it he was able to barely make out the text. _'S-A-i? No...wait. That's an L! Sal!'_ Crashing to his knees, he felt tears that he held back for years gush from his eyes like a bursting flood gate. "My god," he cried, "I'm home...I'm home!"

However, he had no time to nurse his fresh emotional wounds.

"JAX!" the XO jerked as he spun around to follow the noise behind him. "JAX!" he heard again, but this time he could see who the words came from. Opposite the ice cream shop was an office building riddled with holes. Through the broken glass windows he could make out two figures fighting, as bullets flew past them. "Selene...?" he wondered aloud. The answer was obvious, though it took him several seconds to process what was happening as he heard metal grind against concrete, the firefight raging right in front of him.

Finally, it registered, "SELENE!" He shouted, as he pushed himself off his feet transitioning instantly into a sprint, adrenaline pumping through his veins again, "Selene, I'm coming Selene! I'm coming, **I'm coming**!"

As soon as the Commander reached his destination, he made sure to thoroughly inspect the structure of the building. He moved up and down the back wall, out of firing range, and searched for structurally weakest point. Once he found the most visibly cracked location, he held up his right arm and tapped on it. A holographic overlay (omni-tool) formed around his hand and moved up to his elbow. Placing his palm against the wall, the glove began to beep. The rate at which it beeped indicated how sturdy that part of the wall was. The faster, the weaker the wall was, therefore, the slower, the stronger it was. It took a mere minute for the Cerberus Officer to find the softest point, as the omni-tool went from various speeds of beeping and all the way to a loud hum. With a smirk on his face he grabbed a metal block from his back. As he gripped it, the seeming brick unfolded, as a trigger was released from inside and the barrel extended.

Briefly chalking off the soft spot, he casually backed up and leveled the shotgun towards it. Pulling the trigger, a spray of bullets crashed against the wall, puncturing holes into it and forcing the metal to bend inwards _'One'_. Another shot, and the materials started to tear as the furthermost dents turned into a single hole _'Two'_. _'Three.' _The gaps became more prevalent than the original structure. _'Four.'_ The wall collapsed. Putting his weapon onto his back again, he crawled through the hole, subsequently entering the building. Getting back to his feet, Alrik dusted himself off. At first glance, he assumed he was in some sort of garage.

Before he even had the chance to look around, the crackling sound of incendiary bullets brought him back to the ground. Picking his head up, the Commander noticed what appeared to be an old automobile. Smoke began to rise from the hood of the car as he heard the sizzle left by the fiery munitions, _'I just never get a break these days...' _he thought sarcastically as he ducked behind a nearby stone pillar.

The steaming sound of melting metal was augmented as a fire ignited and superheated shrapnel flew out in every direction. Instinctively, he raised his arms over his head, thought it would do him no good. He could hear the cracking and crumbling of stone; the pillar was collapsing. A tiger in his own right, he briefly curled up and launched himself into the air, sailing through the sky with surprising grace. Taking a deep breath, the entire world seemed to slow down around him; in those few seconds he scanned his surroundings.

Cars were everywhere, and the pillars all seemed to be losing the battle against time. Other than that, nothing was out of the ordinary. As Alrik started to descend, he noticed a figure pass by him. Simultaneously, the all too familiar _click_ of a trigger sounded off. Curling his body and focusing his mass, he landed atop some sort of buggy, which crumbled from the weight of the Commander; the metal crushed together and flattened out while the pillar behind the soldier collapsed. The noise of repeated gunfire continued to keep silence at bay.

Briefly shaken from the landing, Alrik quickly set the feeling aside and rolled off the wreck he created. Ripping the shotgun off his back again, he raised it up while he looked for cover. Once more he heard the _zip-zip-zip_ of his opponents weapon. _'Must be a sub-machine gun.' _Even Ken could only avoid shots for so long, and he felt the burn of three light rounds crashing into him. An alarm rang out in his suit, indicating his shields were low. In a rush, the Commander half ran and half stumbled behind another pillar. Holding the burst weapon up, he fired in the general direction he last saw a glimpse of his enemy. He listened. The sounds of metal piercing metal, but nothing else.

"You'll have to try harder than that Cerberus!" a female voice said cockily.

_'Don't tell me they all want to talk during a fight...' _If that were the case, Alrik was considering just killing himself.

Again, he pulled the trigger, this time trying to follow the sound of the Dragon's voice. The bullets flew, briefly lighting the room and echoing throughout the building as they collided or pierced whatever was in front of them. Alrik sighed.

"Third time's the charm, puppy!"

_'I hate this. So. Damn. Much.' _

For the third time, he pulled the trigger and yanked at the underside of the gun, hearing the _ka-click_ sound of a thermal clip being ejected and a new one set into place. This time, Alrik stayed quiet, and held still. Eyes wide, he made sure to focus on his Heads Up Display (HUD). Although he could have sworn he saw the Dragon, the targeting system didn't lock onto it. Was his enemy invisible? '_That can't be possible, can it?' _No, the Commander was sure he could find his enemy.

The sounds of muffled footsteps echoed across the room. Try as hard as he could, the tapping sound was far too distorted by the reverberations of the metal walls. For all intents and purposes, he was blind. In frustration, he contemplated just bringing one of the pillars on top of himself. It was at that moment, he had a revelation. _'The pillars, of course!'_

Backing up, he fired his weapon at the top of the support structure. Almost immediately, the top gave way and the stone underneath buckled under its own weight, crashing down.

"Not even close, doggy!"

_'We'll see about that.' _Once more, he rushed to the one across from him, pulled the trigger and watching it crumble. For just a moment, he thought he saw a silhouette move away from the falling debris. The room began to shake, and the ceiling roared over him; Alrik smirked.

"What the...?" the knight asked in confusion.

The red flares of the Dragon's projectiles were merely a distraction as he moved from car to car. Without concern for _locating _the shots, avoiding them was plenty easy. With another pull of the trigger, another construct fell. The room shook.

Cracks and holes lined the windows of nearly all the cars Ken hid behind.

"What...what are you even doing?" The voice asked, with just a hint of concern.

'_Bringing down the house.'_ He pulled the trigger, and the floor quaked.

"Y-you'll get both of us crushed!" The tech knight said, now in a panic.

"You're only half right there."

Two pillars later, only Alrik was the one still shooting, as the building groaned and tremors rolled beneath his feet. Dust and stone started to fall from the ceiling while it convulsed. Ken grinned. Spinning around, he looked for the exit; the large ramp that would normally be there had already caved in, all that was left was a small stair way across from it.

"You're INSANE!" the knight cried frantically, both footsteps and destination now apparent.

Determined to beat her, Alrik ran like he never had before, as slabs of rock and metal fell around. Adrenaline flooding his entire body, he made his way to the only safe location, the spiral stair case just ahead of him. As a glowing silhouette made its way in front of him, he redoubled his efforts. The top of the room cried, and the debris happened to be its tears. Right in front of Ken another piece of stonework fell, and though he altered his course and avoided it, his shadowy assailant was not so fortunate; as he twisted and turned, the rocks came crashing right onto it, causing a brief flash of light.

With that, a definitive figure appeared; as Alrik suspected, it was a woman in another knight suit. When the woman made no attempt to get up, he skidded to a halt. Contrarily, his mind began to race as he argued with himself for what felt like an eternity. It actuality, it only took a moment as he cursed to himself and grabbed the woman by the hips and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and moved back along as falling rock surrounded him.

Frantically, Alrik ran. Although he was only several yards away, he had to increase his efforts to both compensate for the new weight on his shoulders, and time spent trying to pick the Dragon up in the first place. Just as the world slowed down when he leaped into the air, time now felt like it was moving too fast for him. But just as the rapid crashing of the ceiling was catching up to him, he made one massive dive forward. It was in mid air that it felt like time itself stopped entirely. A huge rock was just above him, it was uneven and jagged. He could see the small bits of dust along side it, and the way that small bits of rocks littered the ground. The knight he held in his arm was limp, and one of her arms lay over his chest. _'Am I going to die?'_ He wondered, as he saw the low overhang that protected the stairwell; it almost seemed to shine. Then, time resumed. In the blink of an eye, everything had fast forward to compensate for its earlier lapse, and he flew past the overhang and crashed onto the floor of the stair well while the garage was sealed by the debris.

'_Slow and steady wins the race huh? Well __**fuck**_ _**that**__.'_

Typically, collisions rarely qualify as good things. For instance, not many people speak fondly about the time they were kicked in the gut, or punched in the face. Nor does anyone relish in reminiscing about the time they were shot in the hip and nearly died from blood loss. All that said, Alrik was pretty damn happy after he skidded along the tile floor of the stairwell. Heaving a deep sigh of relief, he pushed himself back onto his feet and inspected the Dragon. He bent down to check on her; There was a brief surge of electricity, both the lights and visor on the suit dimmed. Shaking his head, he began his journey up the stairs.

_'Well, that's two down.'_

"I'm coming, **I'm coming**!" Jax cried out as he bounded across the road, onto the sidewalk, and right into the building. Not even stopping to find a door, the colossal XO lunged right at it, diving right through a window. The glass shattered and littered the floor of the building. Presumably, it was an office building, as it was filled with broken cubicles and aged papers. Although normally someone's facial features were typically hard to distinguish behind a visor or mask, the look on the two combatants were no doubt ones of wide eyes and gaping mouths. The Cerberus Operative could sense it as he tumbled across the floor; tearing the old carpeting as he went, causing sparks to fly and its metal underbelly to shriek, he transitioned perfectly as he turned it into a somersault and used the momentum to bring him to his feet. Seeing both his companion and the Dragon, standing completely still, he gave the widest of grins, "I'm here now."

Wasting no time, the XO pulled off the rifle on his shoulder and began to shoot; three round bursts being fired one after another in an almost rhythmic pattern, the spacing perfect between each pull of the trigger. His enemy moved in a way he hadn't seen before; while most would dive for cover, this man seemed to dance around each shot. Instead of driving his opposition off, the Dragon was moving him! In both graceful yet rapid movements, Jax was forced to stagger about as the tech-knight closed the distance between them. And while the Cerberus Operative thought he was keeping up, it was all apart of the knight's plan. He tried to set off another burst...nothing happened. He needed another thermal clip. While Jax slammed the side of his weapon, ejecting a steaming block of metal from it, the Dragon struck.

Removing two pistols from either side of his hip, the Dragon rammed them into the XO. Jax stumbled and fell onto his back, and the knight stood over him, the sidearm pointed at his face. Out of instinct, he closed his eyes; they burst open as he heard his name.

"**JAX!**" Selene shouted, and the Dragon jerked in surprise, turning to the noise. At that very moment, the woman swung her metal covered fist and slammed his face with it. This time, it was the knight that stumbled backwards. Reaching down to her superior, she heaved the man up (using both arms to compensate for his large size).

"Ah...thanks Sel," he muttered, embarrassed.

"Of course," she responded, a smirk evident in her tone.

Another shot sounded off, and the two ducked.

"Talk later?" Selene asked with a chuckle.

"Talk later," he responded in kind.

"Same plan?"

"Same plan."

The sound of unison as two guns fired off at the same time; Jax and Selene ran in opposite directions, flanking the Dragon who revealed his second side arm. With two pistols, the knight fired with amazing precision at both Cerberus soldiers simultaneously. Fortunately, the two moved in harmony together, staying just ahead of the tech-knight's arms, narrowly evading each shot; the tables had turned. When one hid behind cover, the other started to shoot. For every time Jax moved around the room, Selene was laying down covering fire with her pistol; just the same, for every time Selene rolled behind another cubicle, Jax was letting off another burst at the knight.

By then, all three of them were following their own rhythm and dancing to their own beat; the sounds of gunfire setting their tempo. The allegro of their movements propelling all of them to go faster to keep up with the others. As the fight progressed, roles would change as the Dragon held the leading note, while the two soldiers moved in counterpoint; they followed up with their own duet, forcing the knight into an interlude of defense until he could press the attack again. At one point, their patterns met perfectly as all three performers ended in the center of the room, their instruments of war aimed accordingly. In one synchronized movement, they tried to play a note...nothing happened. The _click-click-click_ of the firearms acted as the coda, each of them needed to reload. Everyone stopped.

On either side of the knight, the two soldiers were kneeling down, weapons trained on their target. Meanwhile, the Dragon stood in the exact center of the room with his arms spread, one gun pointed at both of his marks.

"Well, that's interesting timing huh," The Dragon commented.

"Very," the Operatives said, clearly in sync in both mind and body.

There was a pause.

Thermal clips ejected from each of their weapons, and they all fired.

...The Dragon fell. There was a brief surge of electricity, both the lights and visor on the suit dimmed.

Still synced, Selene and Jax stood and walked towards each other.

"Shields?" The XO asked in a military fashion.

"Ten percent, sir," Selene responded in turn.

The two held their arms up, and crossed them around each others.

"How's Alrik?" The woman asked in mild concern.

Jax checked his right arm, and noted there were still three glowing lights, "He's still with us." After another moment of silence he followed up with, "Time to help the cocky bastard out I guess." With a nod and a chuckle from Selene, the Operatives went to find a stair case to take to the higher levels.

When he found it, he looked out to the window, just barely making out the ice cream cone to Sal's shop. _'I guess it was for the best that I left."_ his companion was looking at him, likely in concern. Without saying a word though, he walked up the stairs, and she followed.


End file.
